Colombia Protests After Migrant Death at ICE Detention Center

Colombian President Gustavo Petro requested Wednesday that the Foreign Ministry send a protest note to the U.S. Government over the April death of a young Colombian in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Missouri. Petro denounced that the young man committed suicide in an ICE “concentration camp.”

“A young Colombian committed suicide in an ICE concentration camp of the U.S. government. He wanted to call his mother and was not allowed. He decided to commit suicide,” Petro expressed on X, where he ordered the Foreign Ministry to “deliver a protest note.” The Colombian president strongly criticized U.S. immigration policies.

In the president’s view, “the U.S. government must reflect on how immigration policy is killing Americans and Latin Americans.” “A tribute from all Colombian youth to Brayan Rayo Garzón. Rest in peace,” President Petro added in his official protest message.

What Does ICE Say About Brayan Rayo Garzón’s Death?

According to an ICE report, a border patrol near San Ysidro (California) detained Rayo Garzón, 27 years old, on November 30, 2023. He was detained for illegally entering the United States without government authorization.

A young Colombian committed suicide in an ICE concentration camp of the U.S. government.

He wanted to call his mother and was not allowed. He decided to commit suicide.

The Colombian foreign ministry must deliver a protest note and the U.S. government must reflect on how the policy… https://t.co/SF5k6IrFNd

— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) May 27, 2026

In June 2024, an immigration judge ordered his deportation. After that, he was transferred to a detention center in Phelps County (Missouri). He remained there awaiting deportation back to Colombia. The wait stretched for several months under detention conditions.

In March 2025, he tested positive for COVID, and on April 7 of that year, he was found unconscious in his cell with a sheet around his neck. He was transferred to a medical center where he died on April 8, 2025. ICE attributes the death to suicide by the Colombian migrant.

Why Does Colombia Believe U.S. Policy Kills Migrants?

Relatives of other victims and forensic experts have previously questioned ICE for attributing migrant deaths to “suicides.” Cases such as that of Nicaraguan Víctor Manuel Díaz and Cuban Gerardo Lunas Campos at Fort Bliss, a detention center in El Paso (Texas), were attributed to suicide but raised doubts about actual conditions.

The Trump administration’s anti-migration policies, combined with efforts to increase arrests in the interior of the country, have led to record detention figures. In January, more than 73,000 people were detained.